Senate bill attempts to address Wi-Fi spectrum shortage
A bill introduced by Senators Barbara Boxer and George Allen, and the FCC, are looking for ways to address the shortage of the unlicensed spectrum appropriate for Wi-Fi networks according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
Mr. Allen and the FCC take different approaches, each with their own difficulties. Mr. Allen's bill calls for the FCC to set aside for Wi-Fi a significant amount of contiguous spectrum -- 255 megahertz, or more than is currently available for digital wireless phones.
Finding that amount of spectrum will be difficult, said Peter Cramton, a spectrum expert at the University of Maryland, even though the bill allows the FCC to look in less popular spectrum "neighborhoods" where there are fewer conflicting services.
Higher frequencies aren't as useful for some applications. Wi-Fi currently operates in the popular 2.4 gigahertz range; at frequencies above three gigahertz, trees, buildings and even raindrops can cause interference, Mr. Cramton said.